free market

American  

noun

1. an economic system in which prices and wages are determined by unrestricted competition between businesses, without government regulation or fear of monopolies.

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free market British  

noun

1. 1. an economic system that allows supply and demand to regulate prices, wages, etc, rather than government policy

   2. ( as modifier )

      a free-market economy

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free market Cultural  

1. The production and exchange of goods and services without interference from the government or from monopolies.

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Other Word Forms

• free marketeer
  noun
• free-market
  adjective

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

free market

Huang has called for more social housing — either co-ops or publicly owned apartments that are not part of the free market.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

The free market produced unprecedented growth in U.S. oil and gas production and exports.

From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026

So the advisory firms arose from a free market to offer them analysis.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 9, 2026

In a free market, countries that constantly run big trade surpluses with the U.S. would be flooded with extra dollars beyond what they needed to buy imports.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025

Private enterprise was supposed to build an industrial duty-free port in Bolivia Mar. Thus far the free market has not accepted the challenge.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

• liberalism